SA’s Kelvin van der Linde won the 6 Hours of Paul Ricard in France on Sunday, first round of the GT World Challenge Europe.
He shared a Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evo with Belgian team mates Charles Weerts and Ugo de Wilde. The team started the race from ninth position but steadily improved throughout the race. As darkness fell and the track cooled down, the car got faster, and about 1 hr 45 min before the end, Van der Linde took the lead. which he maintained until the finish.
The South African celebrated his second prestigious victory with Team WRT after the Bathurst 12 Hour in Australia in February. It was also a special triumph for De Wilde, as he managed to win in his debut as a BMW M works driver.
“It was a very surprising win for us. After qualifying our main target was to finish in the top-five and to score points, but to be fighting for a podium and even a win was unexpected and makes it even sweeter,” said Van der Linde after Sunday’s win at Paul Ricard.
“Big shout out to Charles, he’s been really good. I think it’s one of hist best drives. Same for Ugo that we threw in a deep end in such a competitive championship, and he did really well. He made no mistakes, and he established him well this weekend. I’m looking forward to seeing how he progresses throughout the season.”
Van der Linde joined the BMW team this year after finishing second in last year’s German Touring Car Masters (DTM) championship with Audi. In addition to the GT World Challenge Europe he will compete in this year's eight-round World Endurance Championship (WEC) which includes the Le Mans 24 Hour race in June. In the WEC he will team up with motorcycle legend Valentino Rossi in a BMW M4 GT3 Evo.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.